Seared Chicken Breast with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce:

I highly recommend using fresh herbs in this dish. They pack so much flavor that I promise you won't regret it!

I swear every time that I go to buy flat leaf parsley... they only have this stuff... the curly kind. Really either would work... I just like the flat leaf kind better. Crazy... no. Picky... yes.

Chop, mince or bludgeon the heck out of it... like so.

Measure out a 1/3 cup of minced parsley and set aside.

Grab some fresh thyme. 

STORY: Once, a long, loooong time ago, I put some not so fresh thyme into some soup. I didn't realize it wasn't its freshest until after dinner {and after Pat complained} when I checked the package to make sure I used the right herb, it was then when I saw... umm... gross herbs. I should also mention that I thought it would be a great idea to make chicken noodle soup in a crock pot, which it wasn't. The noodles expanded into huge and super soggy blobs! Totally gross and yet my husband still ate it! I didn't really get cooking then... yeah so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

So since that horrible soup tasting experience, my husband has sworn up and down that he hates, and I mean HATES thyme... until I made this dish. Using fresh non-expired thyme helps, immensely.

Run your finger along the length of the branch, peeling of the thyme leaves... then just give those a quick chop.

Once the herbs are chopped toss those into a medium bowl.

Peel the rind off of a lemon and slice {carefully} into thin strips.

Add those along with fresh pressed garlic into the same bowl.

Toss together and set aside.

Get a large 12 inch skillet hot with some olive oil in it and season the chicken breast halves {whole breast that have been butterflied all the way through} with kosher salt and black pepper.

Once the oil is hot {really really hot}, sear the chicken on both sides, about 3 minutes a side.

Remove to a plate... but only for a second.

Pour the chicken stock into the pan, it's going to hiss and spit at you, but scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan {that's where the best flavor is at!}

After scraping all the goodies from the bottom of the pan, bring it all to a simmer.

Add 3/4 of the herb and lemon mixture and stir.

Place the chicken halves back into the sauce and turn to coat. Let simmer in the pan sauce and covered for 6 more minutes {or until chicken is no longer pink}.

Serve with leftover herb/lemon mixture as garnish and drizzled with this delicious pan sauce! Maybe serve with this here salad, these potatoes and this bread recipe!

Enjoy!

Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce:

{serves 4}

ingredients:

1/3 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Peel, sliced into thin strips

2 medium size Garlic Cloves, Pressed {through garlic press} or minced

3-4 tablespoons of Butter

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast Halves {brought to room temp}

1/4-1/2 cup of good Chicken Stock

preparations:

In a small bowl toss together the chopped parsley, thyme, garlic and sliced lemon peel.

Season the chicken with kosher salt and black pepper.

In a large 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat cook chicken in butter for about 6 minutes or until browned, turning only once in between. Transfer to plate.

Remove the skillet off of the heat; add in the stock and scraping up the brown bits. Add in 3/4 of the lemon/herb mixture. Return back to the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Return the chicken back to the skillet, turn to coat, simmer covered for about 6-8 more minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Serve with pan sauce and garnish with remaining herb/lemon mixture if desired.

cumin lime chickpeas

STEP 1: Empty both cans of chickpeas into a colander and rinse with cool water. Let the chickpeas drain as you prepare the rest of the salad.

STEP 2: Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems and then roughly chop. Dice the red onion. Place both in a large bowl.

STEP 3: Prepare the dressing by squeezing the juice from one lime into a bowl and adding the olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt. Finely mince two cloves of garlic and add them as well. Stir everything to combine. Taste and adjust salt to your liking.

STEP 4: Add the drained chickpeas and the dressing to the bowl with the cilantro and onion. Stir to combine and then serve! The flavor intensifies the longer it sits so, refrigerate before serving for a stronger flavor.

Step By Step Photos

I had a couple lonely cans of chickpeas in my pantry, so what better to do with them than add my favorite flavors...


Cilantro, lime, garlic, and onion! This really is my favorite combo. Anytime I need something to taste fresh and vibrant, this is what I reach for.


Rinse the chickpeas in a colander with cool water to remove all of that canned flavor. I'm sure making fresh chickpeas from dry would not only be more inexpensive but the flavor would be even more clean and fresh. Note to self: make fresh chickpeas.


Remove the leaves from the stems of the cilantro and then give them a rough chop. The leaves pull off easily so this should take no more than a minute or two.


Dice the red onion and place it in a bowl with the cilantro.


Squeeze the juice from one lime into a bowl and add the olive oil, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Mince the garlic and add that as well.


Stir it all up and now you've got a delicious cumin dressing. Give it a taste and adjust the salt and any other ingredients as you see fit.


Add the drained chickpeas and dressing to the bowl with the cilantro and onion. Stir until everything is coated in dressing and then serve!


The salad will be even more intense the next day! ...if it lasts that long!

White Bean Salad

Today, I have for you, a salad.
What the heck?
Indeed, a salad.
Yeah…sometimes…I gotta eat stuff that’s relatively good for me.
I can’t just eat cookies.
I want to, but I can’t.
Also, I just like to eat lots of different stuff.
That’s okay right?
This salad has been making weekly appearences in our dinner rotation.
It’s mighty tasty, bright, and fresh.

At it’s simplest it’s just white beans, a little onion, and a homemade vinaigrette. Sometimes I add basil, or parsley, or cilantro. Sometimes I add some Israeli couscous and it becomes a salad with carbs.
My favorite.
I’ve even added roasted red peppers and/or tomatoes.
Those are both lovely additions.
Basically, you can add whatever you fancy.
This salad is totally adaptable that way.
It’s nice as a side to some grilled protein or perfect for lunch. Sean loves this homely little salad. It actually shocked him how good it was. I like when I shock him with my humble cooking skills. Makes me feel like a champion.
I like that.

White Bean Salad
This time I added spinach to the mix. I suggest adding the spinach right before serving as the dressing will make it all wilt-y. I used a combination of lemon juice and cider vinegar for the acid part of the dressing. I just really like those two things and always have lemons and cider vinegar lying around. The dressing, like the salad, is totally adaptable to your taste. I like to grate the garlic and let it mingle with the acid so the raw edge is tamed a bit…or else you might just have highly corrosive garlicky dragon breath, as opposed to the regular kind of garlicky dragon breath.
1 can drained, rinsed white beans, such as cannelini or great northern
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I used white, red or sweet are nice too)
1 small clove garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2+ tablespoons fresh herbs, if you have them
1 cup washed, baby spinach leaves
Place beans and chopped onion in a medium bowl. Set aside and make the dressing
Grate garlic with a microplane or mince finely, place in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Add lemon, vinegar, maple syrup/honey, dijon, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Screw on lid and shake it up! Taste the dressing and adjust seasoning as necessary.
Pour the vinaigrette over the beans, mix well. Fold in the herbs (if using) and spinach leaves. Serve. If you don’t use the spinach or don’t add it in at this point this salad is wonderful after it has had time to chill in the refrigerator–anywhere from a few hours to 2-3 days.

:Eggnog French Toast Sticks and Brown Butter Maple Syrup:}

Eggnog. It's not only for spiking with rum, but it makes an excellent batter for Texas toast! Just remember to measure and leave your eggnog, milk and eggs out for about 30 minutes before using... otherwise it will solidify the butter when it's added and it'll be lumpy looking. If it happens it won't be the end of the world... the batter will just be, well, ugly. 

There's really no particular order when it comes to making these, but here is how it went down.

You need 8 slices of Texas toast, if you can't find it, try a french loaf and slice it thick. Slice each of the Texas toast slices into three strips and set aside to work on the batter. 

 In a shallow pan, I use a pie plate, crack some eggs and add in the spices. Because seriously, what's eggnog batter without a little nutmeg?

Measure and add in the vanilla, eggnog, butter and thin it out with a little whole milk. If you want these like asap and you don't have eggnog... just use 2/3 cup of regular ol' whole milk and leave out the extra tablespoons.

Dunk the strips of bread into the batter, be extra careful with those middle sections of bread... they're frah-geee-le.

While I was dunking I set them on a wire rack to drip off any excess batter... this isn't necessary, but I do it anyways.

Place the strips close {without touching each other or they'll stick} on a lined cookie sheet. I swear to you, buy a silpat... it's twenty bucks, but the best twenty bucks I've ever spent.

Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes. 

Flip, and then continue to bake for 10-15 more.

Right after you flip the toast would be a great time to get going on the maple syrup. If you're still using the log cabin variety of syrups... you should probably stop. Like now. I can't say if this recipe will taste the same with artificial-maple-flavored-corn-syrup or not... so do take the leap and buy some of the real stuff. 

ps... why the tiny handle? Like anyone can actually use that handle for pouring! Pshht!?

Pour about a half cup of syrup into a bowl.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add to it a half stick of butter. Watch it carefully as it melts, bubbles, the milk solids separate, and then start to brown. Right when it reaches a caramelly color {that's an official blog term btw} remove it from the heat.

Pour the brown butter directly into the syrup... it's totally meant to be.

If you're using unsalted butter, throw in a heavy pinch {or about a 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt}.

Stir to combine.

Then you can just pour a little of that deliciousness into a tiny bowl that's perfect for dunking french toast sticks in!

Seriously these took me back to those elementary hot-lunch days, when it was french toast stick day {say THAT five times fast}... only much, much better!

And that syrup... it's nutty... sweet and superb! Seriously... I'm considering never consuming regular maple syrup ever again. 

Eggnog French Toast Sticks and Brown-Butter Maple Syrup:

ingredients:

8-10 thick slices of Texas Toast

4 whole Eggs, at room temp

2/3 cup Eggnog, at room temp

2 tablespoons Whole Milk, at room temp

1/4 cup Butter, melted and cooled to room temp

3/4 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract

1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Fresh Grated Nutmeg

for the syrup:

1/2 cup Maple Syrup

1/2 stick Unsalted Butter

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt, more or less to taste

preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment or a silpat.

Slice the Texas toast slices into 3 strips or "sticks". In a shallow bowl or pie plate; whisk eggs, eggnog, milk, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Quickly dunk the sticks into the batter and place on a rack to drip off any extra batter. Place the sticks on the prepared cookie sheet, place on the middle rack in your oven and bake for fifteen minutes. Flip and repeat for another 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the syrup into a small bowl. Melt the half stick of butter into a small skillet over medium heat. Watch closely till it is a deep golden brown and not burned. Pour into the maple syrup and stir. Season with salt and serve warm with the french toast sticks. 

*special tip* After they cool, place them all on a small cookie sheet or plate, set them in the freezer for 15 minutes then store them in a freezer safe container or bags and reheat any morning you want!